This is kind of trainspotting at this point, but the Guardian is running live coverage of the British House of Commons debate on Iraq. There’s no doubt Blair’s resolution will pass at this point; the question is how many Labour MPs will defect. Robin Cook adroitly separated opposition to war from opposition to Blair’s government yesterday, which makes today more interesting.
There we go. Here’s the full text of Robin Cook’s resignation speech, which I’ve been pitching as a must read, so hurry up already. In other British political news, Clare Short (original) withdrew her threat to resign, confirming everything skeptics think about the left.
So. We’re going to war. I think a number of things, which I will outline here, as much to remind myself of them in the days to come as for any other reason. I think that regime change in Iraq is an admirable goal; Saddam Hussein is a terrible leader who has caused great harm to his citizens. He is a dictator and a criminal. I have no doubt of this. ...
Charlie Daniels continues to be a sad, sorry little son of a bitch. He sent that “ open letter” out to a bunch of people. Tamara Saviano (who works in the music industry) got the letter, apparently directly from Daniels. She responded, from her home, on her own time. [She got fired](http://web.archive.org/web/20080705040512/http://web.archive.org/web/20080705040512/http://www.blogcritics.org/archives/2003/03/10/185255.php (original) “Blogcritics: Free Speech Crushed in Nashville”) (original). After Daniels’ publicist complained. So not only is Daniels revealing himself as the worst kind of idiot, but if you dare to disagree with him, he’ll see if he can get you fired. ...
Two very important speeches were delivered today. One was delivered to the people of the United States; one was delivered to Britain’s House of Commons. I’m glad I had the chance to watch both of them. President Bush made what we must now consider the definitive Administration case for war on Iraq. Robin Cook made what I consider to be the definitive case against. (I have not found a transcript of the latter, but there is a RealVideo archive.) ...
Robin Cook and Tony Blair displayed uncommon class in their letters regarding the former’s resignation. That’s how you disagree with someone’s policies without attacking them as a person. It’d make good reading for a lot of people on both sides of the aisle.
Last night, Bush said “Tomorrow is the day we determine whether or not diplomacy can work.” Today, the US, the UK, and Spain [withdrew the British resolution](http://web.archive.org/web/20081013005051/http://web.archive.org/web/20081013005051/http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/17/sprj.irq.main/index.html (original) “CNN.com - Bush to address nation on Iraq - Mar. 17, 2003”) (original). Dude, it’s not even noon yet. That was a pretty short day. I mean, OK, leaving aside the issue of whether you’re pro or anti — isn’t it a little weird that Bush can’t even stick with a diplomatic plan for 24 hours? Couldn’t he have just said, “If we don’t see a diplomatic solution by tomorrow morning, time’s up,” perhaps? You’re President of the most powerful nation on Earth. Gotta stop sending these mixed messages. ...
Hey, looks like I called it! Chirac’s interested in the Chile proposal (original). I didn’t think that was actually likely, but I did note it would be a clever diplomatic move. Via Den Beste (original), who thinks it’s another chance to mock Chirac and rather misses the problems it might cause Tony Blair.
Time for another quick Iraq rundown. Bush’s promise to unveil a Middle East peace plan (despite what some in his administration think of it (original)) may have been another favor to Tony Blair, as it seems that promise is helping Tony Blair keep Claire Short (original) from resigning. On the flip side, a poll of Labor backbenchers showed 95 out of 129 MPs refusing to support military action without a second resolution. Still, any talk of peace (original) is simply avoiding reality. US bombers took out Iraqi radar systems last night — specifically, those systems which would give warning of a US attack. The Azores meeting is not a diplomatic summit, it’s a planning session for the attack. ...
So Charlie Daniels is explaining life to the Hollywood types. Yeah, well. I don’t know about all these people who keep saying “and you risked lives!” I grew up, for some of my childhood, in the small state of New Hampshire. I think it had more of an effect on me than I realized at the time: ten solid years of looking at the damned license plates, see. ...